Arashi's member annual income is only 20 million yen!

From movie to television to concerts, this year is a big success for Arashi. Their unprecedented nation wide dome tour mobilized 870,000 people. They ranked in the top 5 of CM income rankings. From various activities, they contribute to about 20 billion yen to the economy.

Although there are some differences in annual income of each member, Arashi member is earning between 20 to 28 million yen (about US $242,000 to US $339,000) annually. Or about 2 million yen (US $24,000) monthly. That is basically it. Even the lowest earning member of SMAP, Katori Shingo, earns more than the five of them combined. Many showbiz people think this is not the hopes and dreams of Arashi (Advertising agency official).

For young men between 20 - 30 years of age, this kind of income is like a dream come true. But Arashi members are top idols of the entertainment world. From the list of richest celebrities that were published in 2005, the amount of tax paid, and annual income of these people were made public in the hundreds of million yen. However, this treatment of Arashi is part of an "education" policy of Johnny's.

Not giving financial rewards to top entertainers is a dangerous act that could lead to the collapse of employer-employee relationship. But Johnny's does not want Arashi to be "derailed" and "dropped" from being top idols. For example, members of a certain music duo topped 2 million album sales and had received 200 million yen each in bonus money. But their motivation had disappeared after they got handed the big check. And now they almost disappear from the music world. Johnny doesn't want the same thing to happen to Arashi.

Avex is a firm where the professional artists can rise above the office's policy. Koda Kumi and Ayumi Hamasaki can say NO if the Office propose a plan that they don't like. But it's absolutely impossible for Johnny's. In Johnny's, the Office and the talent managers are above the talents. Their popularity depends on the management system of the talent agency. The "education" policy of Johnny's and the effort of Arashi members are what drive the steadfast popularity of Arashi.

The report of highest tax paid by celebrities had not been made available to public since 2009 due to privacy issue. The ranking with Sho as 3rd or 5th was the estimated income of Johnny idols in 2010. The tax report is reliable because it came from the government data, but the other ranking was less reliable because it was just an estimation by the so-called "industry insiders".